Saturday June 8th, 2013 will mark the 5th annual King Kat Tournament in Dixon. This is the Biggest and Best Catfish Tournament Trail put on by Cabela's and King Kat USA. The 2013 event is sponsored by Dixon Tourism, KSB Hospital, ACE Hardware and the City of Dixon.

Registration forms are available at the Dixon Welcome Center and ACE Hardware in Dixon or you can register online at www.kingkatusa.com . Registration fee is $200 and Late Registration ($25 fee) is also available at ACE Hardware from 5p-7p on Friday, June 7th, 2013. Vendors will also be available to talk with this evening.

On Tournament day, June 8th, teams can fish on the Rock River from the Steel Mill Dam at Milan to the Dam at Oregon for $10,000 in prize money. The purse is one of the national catfish tourney's largest. Fishing begins at 630am and goes till 330pm and Anglers must be in line for weigh in by 4pm.
Bring your lawn chair and enjoy the day as fisherman check-in from 11am - 4pm at Paige Park Drive along the Rock River. Food will be available for Purchase at Paige Park from 11am-end of event, courtesy of Dixon Junior Dukes.

More information is available at the Dixon Welcome Center or ACE Hardware or at www.kingkatusa.com.

Photos from 2012 King Kat Tournament, supplied by King Kat USA

Dixon Tourism would like to send kudos to the Petunia Festival Board and Volunteers for all they do and have done to attract visitors to our community!  The Dixon Petunia Festival is typically held the last week of June and the first week in July, ending on or around July 4th.  Depending on how the dates fall.  The festival offers a wide variety of activities and attractions for all ages. 

For years the Petunia Festival Country Concert was held at the City Airport - Walgreen Field.  It was a huge undertaking for the Petunia Festival Board, who financed, marketed, and sought sponsorship to make it happen.  The board along with the many volunteers were also responsible for designing the layout, setting up and taking down the stage.  These people worked tirelessly for days to make this all happen.  It has been an event enjoyed by over 2000+ concert goers each year and is now help along the Rock River in Page Park with the permission of the Dixon Park District.  Our city has been the recipient of many well known entertainers who will forever remember their performance at our airport.  This years performers on the Park stages have not yet been announced. 

Take a look at who have performed over the years...

Artists Performing at the Petunia Festival Country Concert

Year                              Openers                       Headliner

1995                                               Lisa Brokop                                   Marty Stuart

1996                                               Rhett Akins                                    Lee Roy Parnell

1997                                               Kenny Chesney                             Martina McBride

1998                                              Ty Herndon                                    Terri Clark

1999                                              Chely Wright, Michael Peterson     Lonestar

2000                                              Shane Minor                                   Patty Loveless

2001                                              Eric Heatherly, Clay Davidson        The Wilkinsons

2002                                              Little Big Town                                Collin Raye

2003                                              Joe Nichols                                      Phil Vassar

2004                                              Dayna Malow, Craig Morgan           Mark Wills

2005                                              Cal Stage, Billy Currington              Jamie O'Neal

2006                                              Rodney Atkins                                  Trick Pony

2007                                              Danielle Peck                                   Darryl Worley

2008                                              TelluRide                                          Pat Green

2009                                             Whiskey Falls                                    Steve Holy

2010                                             Williams Riley Band                           Easton Corbin

2011                                            Adam Craig Band                               David Nail

2012                                            Burns & Poe                                       Frankie Ballard

RED Walgreen Field Stage

Black Festival Grounds stages

Dixon Tourism would like to send kudos to the Petunia Festival Board and Volunteers for all they do and have done to attract visitors to our community!  The Dixon Petunia Festival is typically held the last week of June and the first week in July, ending on or around July 4th.  Depending on how the dates fall.  The festival offers a wide variety of activities and attractions for all ages. 

For years the Petunia Festival Country Concert was held at the City Airport - Walgreen Field.  It was a huge undertaking for the Petunia Festival Board, who financed, marketed, and sought sponsorship to make it happen.  The board along with the many volunteers were also responsible for designing the layout, setting up and taking down the stage.  These people worked tirelessly for days to make this all happen.  It has been an event enjoyed by over 2000+ concert goers each year and is now help along the Rock River in Page Park with the permission of the Dixon Park District.  Our city has been the recipient of many well known entertainers who will forever remember their performance at our airport.  This years performers on the Park stages have not yet been announced. 

Take a look at who have performed over the years...

Artists Performing at the Petunia Festival Country Concert

Year                              Openers                       Headliner

1995                                               Lisa Brokop                                   Marty Stuart

1996                                               Rhett Akins                                    Lee Roy Parnell

1997                                               Kenny Chesney                             Martina McBride

1998                                              Ty Herndon                                    Terri Clark

1999                                              Chely Wright, Michael Peterson     Lonestar

2000                                              Shane Minor                                   Patty Loveless

2001                                              Eric Heatherly, Clay Davidson        The Wilkinsons

2002                                              Little Big Town                                Collin Raye

2003                                              Joe Nichols                                      Phil Vassar

2004                                              Dayna Malow, Craig Morgan           Mark Wills

2005                                              Cal Stage, Billy Currington              Jamie O'Neal

2006                                              Rodney Atkins                                  Trick Pony

2007                                              Danielle Peck                                   Darryl Worley

2008                                              TelluRide                                          Pat Green

2009                                             Whiskey Falls                                    Steve Holy

2010                                             Williams Riley Band                           Easton Corbin

2011                                            Adam Craig Band                               David Nail

2012                                            Burns & Poe                                       Frankie Ballard

RED Walgreen Field Stage

Black Festival Grounds stages

The CD's & DVD's of the "Reagan of Illinois" symphony performance in Dixon in 2011 are now available for purchase at the Dixon Welcome Center.  The CD's are $14.99 + tax and the DVD's are $19.99 + tax.

The “Reagan of Illinois” Symphony to Celebrate Ronald Reagan’s Birth, which premiered earlier this year in Dixon, is one step away from receiving, potentially, four Grammy award nominations! The categories they are considering it in are: Best Orchestral Performance, Best Contemporary Classical Composition, Best Long-Form Music Video and Best Engineered Album, Classical. What an honor for the talented people who wrote, conducted and performed the piece and for Dixon and for the memory of our favorite son.

Dixon Tourism Board members and friends travel to Cubs game for Reagan Centennial. Bonnie Kime, Colleen Brechon, Carol Wadsworth, Edyie Madden enjoy the game. Cubs won!

DIXON – Ever wonder how a petunia tastes? Sweet, and “really good,” according to soon-to-be sellers of an exclusive petunia-infused wine.

The wine, a sweet blush laced with petunias, was made specially for the Dixon Tourism Board by Illinois River Winery in Utica.  The Welcome Center is the only place in town the wine will be available, Tourism President, Colleen Brechon said. Illinois River Winery also has agreed it won't make the same wine for anyone else.

To buy a bottle
Petunia Wine, described as a sweet blush, is available only through the Welcome Center, 106 W. River St.  Call 815-284-3496 or stop by.  The wine sells for $15 a bottle.